47 BC Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion.
44 BCCicero launches the first of his Philippics (oratorical attacks) on Mark Antony. He will make 14 of them over the following months.
31 BC Final War of the Roman Republic: Battle of Actium off the western coast of Greece, forces of Octavian defeat troops under Mark Antony and Cleopatra.
421 Constantius III, Roman emperor
1192 The Treaty of Jaffa was signed between Richard I of England and Saladin, leading to the end of the Third Crusade.
1397 Francesco Landini (died), Italian singer-songwriter, organist, and poet (born 1335)
1666 The Great Fire of London breaks out and burns for three days, destroying 10,000 buildings including St Paul’s Cathedral.
1752 Great Britain adopts the Gregorian calendar, nearly two centuries later than most of Western Europe.
1789 The United States Department of the Treasury is founded.
1792 During what became known as the September Massacres of the French Revolution, rampaging mobs slaughter three Roman Catholic Church bishops, more than two hundred priests, and prisoners believed to be royalist sympathizers.
1807 The Royal Navy bombards Copenhagen with fire bombs and phosphorus rockets to prevent Denmark from surrendering its fleet to Napoleon.
1830 William P. Frye (born), American politician (died 1911)
1833 Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio is founded by John Jay Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart.
1834 Thomas Telford (died), Scottish engineer and architect, designed the Menai Suspension Bridge (born 1757)
1850 Albert Spalding (born), American baseball player, manager, and businessman, co-founded the Spalding Sporting Goods Company (died 1915)
1850 Eugene Field (born), American author and poet (died 1895)
1850 Woldemar Voigt (born), German physicist (died 1919)
1852 Paul Bourget (born), French author and critic (died 1935)
1854 Hans Jæger (born), Norwegian philosopher and activist (died 1910)
1862 American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln reluctantly restores Union General George B. McClellan to full command after General John Pope’s disastrous defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run.
1864 American Civil War: Union forces enter Atlanta, Georgia, a day after the Confederate defenders flee the city, ending the Atlanta Campaign.
1878 Ion Dragoumis (born), Greek philosopher and diplomat (died 1920)
1884 Frank Laubach (born), American missionary and mystic (died 1970)
1885 Rock Springs massacre: in Rock Springs, Wyoming, 150 White miners, who are struggling to unionize so they could strike for better wages and work conditions, attack their Chinese fellow workers killing 28, wounding 15 and forcing several hundred more out of town.
1901 Adolph Rupp (born), American basketball player and coach (died 1977)
1901 Vice President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt utters the famous phrase, “Speak softly and carry a big stick” at the Minnesota State Fair.
1910 Henri Rousseau (died), French painter (born 1844)
1912 Arthur Rose Eldred is awarded the first Eagle Scout award of the Boy Scouts of America.
1917 Cleveland Amory (born), American author (died 1997)
1918 Allen Drury (born), American author (died 1998)
1919 Marge Champion (born), American actress, dancer, and choreographer
1924 Daniel arap Moi (born), Kenyan educator and politician, 2nd President of Kenya
1925 Hugo Montenegro (born), American composer and conductor (died 1981)
1932 Arnold Greenberg (born), American businessman, co-founded Snapple (died 2012)
1934 Sam Gooden (born), American singer (The Impressions)
1935 D. Wayne Lukas (born), American horse trainer
1937 Pierre de Coubertin (died), French historian and educator, founded the International Olympic Committee (born 1863)
1939 World War II: following the start of the invasion of Poland the previous day, the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) is annexed by Nazi Germany.
1941 David Bale (born), South African–American pilot and activist (died 2003)
1943 Rosalind Ashford (born), American singer (Martha and the Vandellas)
1945 World War II: Combat ends in the Pacific Theater: the Instrument of Surrender of Japan is signed by Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and accepted aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
1946 Billy Preston (born), American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (died 2006)
1946 Joe Yamanaka (born), Japanese singer and actor (Flower Travellin’ Band and The Wailers Band) (died 2011)
1946 The Interim Government of India is formed with Jawaharlal Nehru as Vice President with the powers of a Prime Minister.
1947 Richard Coughlan (born), English drummer (Caravan and The Wilde Flowers) (died 2013)
1948 Christa McAuliffe (born), American educator and astronaut (died 1986)
1951 Mark Harmon (born), American actor, director, and producer
1951 Michael Gray (born), American actor
1951 Mik Kaminski (born), English violinist (Electric Light Orchestra, Violinski, and ELO Part II)
1952 Jimmy Connors (born), American tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
1959 Guy Laliberté (born), Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and poker player, founded Cirque du Soleil
1962 William Wilkerson (born), American businessman, founded The Hollywood Reporter and the Flamingo Hotel (born 1890)
1963 CBS Evening News becomes U.S. network television’s first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.
1964 Alvin C. York (died), American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1887)
1964 Glenn Albert Black (died), American archaeologist (born 1900)
1964 Keanu Reeves (born), Lebanese-Canadian actor
1965 Lennox Lewis (born), English-Canadian boxer
1966 Olivier Panis (born), French race car driver
1966 Salma Hayek (born), Mexican-American actress, director, and producer
1969 Ho Chi Minh (died), Vietnamese politician, 1st President of Vietnam (born 1890)
1970 NASA announces the cancellation of two Apollo missions to the Moon, Apollo 15 (the designation is re-used by a later mission), and Apollo 19.
1973 J. R. R. Tolkien (died), South African-English philologist and poet (born 1892)
1990 Transnistria is unilaterally proclaimed a Soviet republic; the Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev declares the decision null and void.
1992 Barbara McClintock (died), American geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1902)
1998 Allen Drury (died), American author (born 1918)
2000 Elvera Sanchez (died), American dancer (born 1905)
2001 Christiaan Barnard (died), South African surgeon (born 1922)
2001 Troy Donahue (died), American actor (born 1936)
2005 Bob Denver (died), American actor and singer (born 1935)
2006 Bob Mathias (died), American decathlete and politician (born 1930)
2012 Jack Boucher (died), American photographer (born 1931)
2012 Mark Abrahamian (died), American guitarist (Starship) (born 1966)
2013 The new eastern span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened to traffic, being the widest bridge in the world.
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
- Patriotism - 4 July, 2017
- The Super Sucker Bowl - 10 February, 2017
- Alternative Facts and Science - 24 January, 2017